Protect Me From My Friends

by Marcellus Allen

  I took my backpack off and tossed it on the table. I had brought one brick so they could see what kinda product I was rockin' with and to see if they could move it.

  “A'ight, let's get down to business then. I chopped it up with my squad and they willing to fuck with y'all if y'all can hold up your end of the deal. Niggaz gotta go one hundred percent hard though. No half stepping at all.

  I know y'all young and wild, but trust me when I tell you experience matters. One slip up and that's yo mama cryin' over yo’ casket. Them fake Mob niggaz are gonna bring it so be ready,” I lectured them.

  I was anxious to see how they reacted to my words. Most lil' niggaz didn't know how to listen when wisdom was being passed down to them. To their credit, they sat there staring and listening attentatively.

  They had looks on their faces like they knew somethin' that we didn't and couldn't wait to tell.

  “That's the work in the bag?” Rico asked, nodding towards the backpack, completely ignoring my speech. His arrogance pissed me the fuck off, but I kept my composure.

  “Yeah, I brought y'all a sample of the future. But before I start flooding y'all with dope, I gotta be convinced y'all can handle it.”

  “Handle it how?” Flocko asked with a trace of aggression in his tone.

  I gave him my full attention. I could tell by his demeanor and the glare in his eyes that he was the killer of the clique. He was me less than a year ago. He better control his temper though.

  “By being able to control this complex first, nigga,” Beast jumped in, matching his aggression.

  “That's in the works as we speak.” Rico looked directly at me as he spoke.

  I opened the backpack, then tossed the brick at Rico so he could see what we were bring to the table. “Show and tell is the name of this game. I've told you what we'll bring to the table and now I've shown you. I can supply y'all with how many y'all need on a consistent basis. I've heard y'all speak, but when will y'all show me somethin'?” I laid the challenge.

  I was expecting them to freeze up a lil' bit and start making promises for the future. I couldn't be mad at that. It takes awhile to complete a hostile takeover, especially by some niggaz that were being funded by Marshawn.

  But to my surprise, they all smiled at me like I was some type of comedian or somthin'. Then Rico stood up and said, “Follow us so we can show you how serious we are.” Then they started walking down the hall we had come from.

  Me and my niggaz looked at each other, scrunched our shoulders, then followed them down the hall. When we walked inside the room, I instantly understood why Flocko had bloodstains on him. They had some nigga tied up and gagged in a chair in the middle of the room. His face was swollen and bloody from getting punched on God knows what else. I took a step closer to get a better look at the nigga 'cause through his bruises, he looked slightly familiar to me.

  “This dead man right here is Chris. You should know him since he's one of O-dawg's lil' bitches. I'm sure you've dealt with him,” Rico said, then lifted Chris's face up so I could get a good look.

  Yeah, that's him. I remembered exactly who he was. I dropped off work and picked money up from him in the past. Chris was one of the main suppliers for Marshawn out in the North. For these niggaz to have 'em all tied up meant they were really ready to go to war. I was impressed. I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Yeah, I know him, but fuck 'em,” I spat.

  Chris was trying to speak to me, but the duct tape was blocking his words. I could tell what he was tryna say just by the look in his pleading eyes. “A'ight, nothin' to talk about, nigga. You know what it is. You chose your side, so ride with it.” I showed no mercy.

  He started mumbling even louder at that point, but I didn't give a fuck.

  “You said show you somethin', so what you think? Is we ready or what?” He was really feeling himself and I couldn't blame him.

  Beast and Premo nodded their heads at me. They were feeling the niggaz. Shit, the only thing they respected was violence and this was right up their alley.

  “It's definitely a big step in the right direction but just know after this, they’re gonna bring the heat. This one right here is gonna hurt their pockets and show their weakness. He can't just give these apartments up, so be more than ready,” I explained.

  “Say what you gotta say, nigga.” Rico snatched the tape off Chris's mouth.

  “Fuck y'all bitch ass niggaz! And Burnside, you a traitor ass nigga that's gon' die soon. You’re a snake nigga!” he vented.

  “You done yet?” I was far from impressed.

  A dead man couldn't penetrate my wall of emotions. Flocko pressed his burner to the back of his head. Just like I thought. I knew who the real killer of the group was. I took a few steps back 'cause I didn't need the niggaz brains and DNA all over me. Fuck that.

  “Y'all niggaz is bitches for going against the North—”

  Boom!

  His brains flew out his forehead while his body slumped forward. He was dead fo' sho.

  It was blood and bone fragments all over the wall a few feet from me. We all just stared at his lifeless body for a minute. One minute he was talking shit, the next he was dead to the world.

  That's how it goes in the underworld. Wasn't no telling when death was gone come calling yo’ name, so it was smart to max out this muthafucka as much as possible.

  I looked at all three of them and respected what I saw. Rico was the leader, Flocko was the muscle, but Ace was the silent one. What's his role? I figured he must of been the true hustler outta the bunch. I could respect that. Every crew needed one. But I didn't like that silent shit at all.

  That sucka Gotti used to be real quiet and he was the biggest snake next to Marshawn.

  “Y'all should leave his ass in the middle of the parking lot. Let the streetz see y'all power and put fear in the rest of the niggaz Marshawn got out here hustlin' for him,” I suggested with an evil smirk.

  “We can do that.” He turned to stare at Chris. “And it's only like two of his kind left out here anyways. He was supposed to be the tough one.” He started laughing.

  “Don't get arrogant in this game. That's why Marshawn's empire is crumbling. Never underestimate an enemy. Just kill all of them with no mercy.”

  I shook all three of their hands, then got back to the Northeast where all the real niggaz lived.

  I knew Rico thought he was making a power play by keeping us out of the North in the future. But what he didn't understand is we didn't wanna be there anyways. Plus, he unknowingly worked for the Ghost Mob now.

  ***

  A few nights later, we were back on our Goon shit and planned to wake the city up. I sat in the backseat with a Mac-11 on my lap just watching everything around us move. It was past ten o'clock at night and we were parked two cars deep right outside of that Mallory courts. I knew who most of the small time hustlers out there were, but my beef wasn't with them personally. My beef was with the fat nigga who supplied most of them.

  “We killin' these niggaz or what son?” Beast asked from behind the wheel.

  Premo turned around to face me for the final decision. These were the type of decisions I wasn't used to making for the whole team. I would usually just jump out shootin' and let the chips fall wherever they did. But now, I had to think about the future of my niggaz and our cash flow. Kill 'em, my inner beast begged me.

  “We gon' play it by ear, see if they got a problem with how we movin',” I decided.

  We bounced out into the cold windy night with our hands by our waist and hearts set on murder. Ralo, Killah, and Head got outta their car and walked across the street to join us at the gate. A few niggaz had their eyes on us, but that was expected and more than welcomed.

  I parked my Benz right in front of the building on purpose just to let the city know who did it. I gave a smoker a few bills to open the gate and just like that, we were in. I slid on my mask as we walked down the corridor like we were the Team 6 Navy Seals.

  I tried to twist the
knob when we reached the door, but it was locked like expected. We had planned on getting in the hard way anyways.

  “Bust it open,” I told Killah who was the big and strong nigga of the crew.

  Bam! Bam!

  Two big ass kicks and the door flew open, then we rushed in like a pack of wolves. I usually was in the front of the pack when it was time to eat, but had to play the back on this one due to my arm in a sling.

  “Ahh!” Tisha screamed out. She was standing in the hall, leaving the kitchen as we rushed in.

  “Shut up, bitch!” Beast yelled, then dropped her to the floor with a blow from his pistol.

  We ran right past her and spotted Block trying to get his fat ass off the couch.

  “Sit back down before I push yo’ shit back, nigga!”

  I aimed the Mac right at his head so he would know it was real. He looked by the TV one more time before he sat down. I walked over to where he was tryna get to and spotted a twelve gauge standing up against the wall. I tucked the Mac and grabbed the gauge.

  “What was you gon' do with this?” I taunted.

  “What y'all niggaz want?” he demanded.

  “Go sit next to yo’ man, bitch.” I pointed the gauge at the empty space.

  She hurried up and dove on the couch. She tightened her robe and scooted close to Block like he could save her.

  “And nigga you sittin' in here with nothin' on but some silk boxers and jewelry on like you Rick Ross or somethin'.”

  That made my niggaz laugh behind their masks. Block looked at each of us like he was tryna scare us or some wild shit like that. “Where the money and dope at, Rick Ross?” I asked.

  “I ain't got shit here. It's all at another spot.” He tried the oldest trick in the book.

  “Y'all search the spot.”

  Everybody except Beast left the front room to go find the money and dope. Block sat there muggin' while they ran through the kitchen and the hallway closet. I found the look on his face real amusing.

  “This ain't no regular robbery, Blood.” I pulled my mask off, then smiled real wide for him. I watched the tough guy facade melt right off of his face. He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling like he was pleading with God.

  “Yeah, it's me. The devil,” I announced.

  “Burnside, we ain't never had no beef, so what's this all about?” he asked, sounding like a real bitch.

  Tisha looked at me with the pleading eyes look. I didn't know what she was more concerned about, me killing her nigga or me exposing her secret. I'd been there a few times when Marshawn was fuckin' her ratchet ass. I smiled at her.

  “Nigga, you know what this is about. You playin' for the wrong side and now were here to see about you. Now where the dope and money at?” I demanded.

  “Is you gon' let me live?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Then why should I tell you?” he asked. That was a good question. I was about to hit that nigga with some ill ass threat about choppin' his fingers off or some shit like that but changed my mind. We were gonna find it anyways, but I had another idea. I picked up the pink iPhone off the table, assuming it was Tisha's. The phone was locked.

  “Bitch, what's the code?” I spat.

  She shook her head no. She pleaded with her eyes, already knowing what type of shit I was on. She was beyond scared straight.

  “A'ight, I'ma make a deal with you. This gon' be the deal of a lifetime too, I promise. If you unlock the phone and tell us where all the shit at, I put it on my dead cousin Jersey Joe, I'm let you live. But if not, then I'ma tell Block everything right before I shoot you between the eyes. And I put that on Joe, too.”

  “What the fuck going on!” Block was hella confused and mad for being left out.

  I put the tip of the gauge against her forehead. I didn't even get the chance to threaten her with the five second count. She repeated the code twice just to make sure I'd heard her right. Bitches ain't shit, I thought as I typed the code in.

  “I'm ‘bout to fuck with you until my niggaz find what we came for. I'ma show you how loyal yo’ nigga is right now,” I taunted.

  I dialed Marshawn's number from off the brain. Marlena. I smiled when I saw the name flash across the screen. I hit the speaker button, then showed Block the screen. “You know her?” I laughed in his face.

  Block stared at Tisha and she looked like she wanted to crawl in a corner and cry. My niggaz came back in, shaking their heads, letting us know they couldn't find nothing. They all looked at me with confused looks on their faces. They didn't understand why I had my mask off. Block had a lil' smirk on his face since we couldn't find the money.

  “What's mobbin'?” Marshawn voice boomed through the phone.

  Block's facial expression was priceless. I wanted to laugh in his face but had to hold my composure.

  “Shit, you tell me, blood. First we got Chris and now we got yo’ bitch, It's been real rough on you,” I said. It took him a few seconds to process the situation and my voice. Block was shooting daggers at Tisha as she scooted away.

  “That ain't my bitch, nigga, just 'cause she sucked my dick a few times. Y'all wasted y'all time even kidnapping her 'cause she don't know shit and I ain't paying shit either.” His words were like venom spilling through the phone for the both of them. Beast put his gun right in Block’s face to stop him from trying any heroic shit.

  “Well, damn. I guess we have wasted our time then. But hold on. Somebody wanna holla at you real quick.” I held the phone in front of Block.

  “You been fuckin' my bitch, nigga? You foul ass fuck for that. I've been loyal to you.” Block said, gritting his teeth. He sounded ready to jump through the phone.

  “Nigga you over there getting ready to die and the first thing you wanna talk about is a bitch? Niggaz be killin' me with that shit. If you still feel some type of way by the time I get to the afterlife, then see me about it when I get there. And Burnside, you a dead man walking. I'm coming for you.” Marshawn hung up with that last threat.

  It was something different about his voice. He was either a man on the edge or one that was defeated. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something had changed him. I gotta hurry up and kill him.

  “You chose the disloyal side,” I told Block, then looked at Beast. “Kill 'em.” I took a few steps back.

  Boom!

  There wasn't any hesitation. Beast put a hole right through his forehead, splashing Tisha with blood in the process. She started screaming like every bitch does.

  “Shut the fuck up before I do you next!” I put the Mac to her face. She got quite real quick. “Now tell me where the shit at before I change my mind.”

  She kept crying and sniffling, while tryna talk. I couldn't understand shit she was saying. It was pissing me the fuck off. I had to take a couple deep breaths.

  “Breath real slow and then tell us where the shit is at. I can't understand you and we're runnin' outta time,” I growled, trying my best not to shoot her. She put her hands on her chest and started breathing real slow. Bitch wasn't cryin' when she was cheating. I didn't have an ounce of sympathy for her or her punk ass tears.

  “The safe is under the couch in the floor,” she finally managed to speak English. Aww, shit, I thought while I looked at Block's fat ass slumped on the couch dead to the world. We all looked at each other, then back at fat ass obviously thinking the same thing.

  “Why the fuck you ain't tell me that before we killed this fat muthafucka. I should shoot yo’ ass on GP,” I vented my frustration at her. Then I started visualizing me helping move him with only one arm. Fuck that. I couldn't picture it, so I took a few steps back.

  “Y'all drag the nigga off the couch so we can get to this money. And bitch, you go stand right there by the TV so I can watch you,” I demanded.

  It took a few minutes and a whole lot of pulling, but they managed to roll his ass to the floor, then drag him to the hallway. They were all hunched over outta breath by the time it was over. I found the shit real comical. />
  “Y'all make sure to burn those clothes tonight too. It's blood all over y'all.” They examined their clothes and saw what I was talking about. I turned to Tisha. “Fat fuck is outta the way and so is the couch. Now, where the shit at?” I grilled her.

  She went and crouched right where the couch had been and pulled a square of carpet off the floor. Floor safe. My heart sped up as the money got closer to my hands. I walked closer to her as she typed in the code to stop her from trying any heroic shit . Most niggaz kept guns in their safes and I wasn't going for it.

  I stood right over her, ready to knock her noodles out at the first sign of any sneaky shit. To her benefit, she got up and went back to the corner after typing the code in. She didn't even open it. She tryna live. I pulled it open and found a large duffle bag just staring at me. I pulled it out the ground and laid it on the floor.

  My squad came closer like a pack of vultures ready to eat. I unzipped it and saw a few bricks and at least a hundred thou staring at us. Jackpot. I smiled at my niggaz and could feel them smiling back behind their masks.

  “Grab it,” I told Beast, then walked over to Tisha with the Mac aimed at her face. The tears were spilling down her face. She knew it was time to die. “If I hear you said anything to anybody, I'ma kill you and yo’ family, understand?”

  She nodded her head while crying. “Yes.”

  “Wait ten minutes before you leave.” I put her phone in my pocket, then walked away. We hit the hallway and speed walked down that bitch until we made it outside. Soon as we got through the gate, we saw a group of niggaz on the corner staring our direction. We stared back, then they started walking towards us. Fuck!

  “Fuck them niggaz, blood. Just get in the cars,” I said, then headed for my Benz.

  We only got a couple feet before somebody yelled out, “Let me holla at y'all real quick.” I turned to face my opponents. I instantly recognized the lil' nigga, Lil Mann. He was one of Marshawn's fuck boyz. He called them. An evil smirk appeared on my face.